LATAM Airlines Mastercard 2023 Review – Forbes Advisor - Forbes
Our Verdict
The LATAM Airlines Mastercard* recently launched alongside the LATAM Airlines World Elite Mastercard*. With a $0 annual fee and a small welcome bonus, the card has limited function for frequent travelers who want practical benefits from their credit cards. With LATAM's loyalty program being limited, you might want to pass on this card.
Pros
- No annual fee
- No foreign transaction fees
- Bonus points on dining, rideshare, taxis, public transit and LATAM airlines purchases
- Fast track to LATAM elite status
Cons
- Relatively small welcome bonus
- No free checked bag benefit
- No 0% introductory APR offer
Highlights
- Earn 15,000 LATAM Pass Miles after spending $1,000 in the first three months
- Earn 3x miles on LATAM purchases, 2x miles at restaurants and on rideshares, taxis, and public transit, and 1x miles on everything else
- 18.24%-28.24% variable APR
Introduction
The LATAM Airlines Mastercard* is a no-annual-fee credit card aimed at LATAM loyalists. The card's shining attributes include no annual fees, foreign transaction fees or late fees. Cardholders earn bonus miles on common spending categories, which can add up to many miles at a rate of 3x miles on LATAM purchases, 2x miles at restaurants and on rideshares, taxis, and public transit, and 1x miles on everything else. The card also offers elite Qualifying Points equal to 10% of your earned points. There's a limit of 7,000 points per calendar year, which is almost halfway to LATAM Gold.
Beyond this, the card has limited use. It doesn't offer free checked bags or discounts on in-flight purchases. Its currency isn't the most versatile or valuable. That being said, the card can be a good fit for the right consumer. We'll dive into that and how the card stacks up against the competitors below.
Compare LATAM Airlines Mastercard With Other Cards
At a Glance
- Earn 3x miles on LATAM purchases, 2x miles at restaurants and on rideshares, taxis, and public transit, and 1x miles on everything else
- No foreign transaction fees
- 10% of earned miles count as elite qualifying points (up to a maximum of 7,000 points per calendar year)
- $0 annual fee
Earn Qualifying Points (QP)
With the LATAM Airlines Mastercard*, you can make progress towards elite status via credit card spending. This is a pretty unique feature for a no-annual-fee card. When you make purchases with the card, you'll receive elite Qualifying Points equal to 10% of the miles earned. You can earn up to 7,000 Qualifying Points per calendar year through credit card spending, though bonus categories do not count.
LATAM Pass has five elite status tiers requiring either Qualifying Points or Segments:
- Gold: 15,000 Qualifying Points or 20 Qualifying Segments
- Gold Plus: 30,000 Qualifying Points or 35 Qualifying Segments
- Platinum: 40,000 Qualifying Points or 45 Qualifying Segments
- Black: 75,000 Qualifying Points or 75 Qualifying Segments
- Black Signature: 160,000 Qualifying Points or 120 Qualifying Segments
With the LATAM Airlines Mastercard*, you can make pretty tremendous progress in earning LATAM Pass elite status. LATAM elites qualify for generous elite status benefits, even at the Gold level. These include seat upgrades, bonus points on flights and priority check-in and boarding.
LATAM Airlines Mastercard Rewards
Earning Rewards
The LATAM Airlines Mastercard* offers a welcome bonus of 15,000 LATAM Pass Miles after spending $1,000 in the first three months. That's paltry compared to other airline card bonuses of 50,000 miles or more. However, this is on par with other no-annual-fee airline cards like the American Airlines AAdvantage MileUp℠ Mastercard®* and Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card.
Aside from the welcome bonus, the LATAM Airlines Mastercard* offers generous category bonuses. It earns 3x miles on LATAM purchases, 2x miles at restaurants and on rideshares, taxis, and public transit, and 1x miles on everything else.
Cardmembers can also earn bonus miles for referring their friends and family. For every approved application stemming from a referral, you'll receive 5,000 bonus miles. You can refer up to ten friends per calendar year, giving you pretty substantial earning potential.
Redeeming Rewards
LATAM lets you redeem miles with nearly two dozen airline partners. You can travel virtually anywhere in the world using LATAM miles, though the program doesn't offer the most competitive redemption rates. Flights to places like Europe and Asia will cost you more LATAM miles than if you were to redeem miles with a partner program like Flying Blue.
For example, LATAM supposedly has one-way economy flights to South America for 15,000 miles each way. But when we conducted a search for off-season travel, the rates were outrageously high at 125,667 miles.
Partner uses include Lufthansa economy class from the U.S. to Africa at 42,000 miles one-way or Swiss business class from Europe to Dubai at 66,000 miles one-way.
Rewards Potential
To determine the rewards potential of the card, we've reviewed data from various government agencies to determine both baseline income and spending averages across various categories. The 70th percentile of wage-earning households brings in $107,908 annually and has $64,144 in standard expenses. Assuming 50% of such expenses are charged to this card, the total annual card spending would be $32,072.
Roughly $1,520 of that amount would go towards airfare and we'll assume it will be for LATAM flights, which earn 3 miles per dollar. We estimate $4,511 on dining and $999 on public transit, both of which earn 2 miles per dollar. That leaves $25,042 in spending that earns 1 mile per dollar spent. In total, the reward potential for this card would be 40,622 miles.
These are solid earnings for a no-annual-fee credit card, but you might be better off with a 2% cash back card like the Citi® Double Cash Card, which would earn over $641 cash back from $32,072 in credit card spending. With cash back, you have more flexibility in how you spend your points, rather than being stuck with a single airline currency, which isn't the most valuable rewards you can earn.
Plus, if you have a Citi Premier® Card, you can take those $641 worth of cash-back rewards as 64,100 Citi ThankYou points. From there, you can transfer them 1:1 to more than a dozen airline and hotel partners, many with better redemption options than LATAM Pass.
Other LATAM Airlines Mastercard Benefits
The LATAM Airlines Mastercard* offers several purchase and travel protections through Mastercard. You'll need to charge the entire purchase to your LATAM card to be eligible for coverage. Here's a look at what's included:
- Secondary Car Rental Insurance: This coverage is secondary and covers towing, damage and theft on vehicles rented for a period of up to 15 days. Excludes trucks, full-sized vans and vehicles with an MSRP of over $50,000.
- Purchase Protection: Provides up to $1,000 in coverage in case of damage or theft within the first 90 days of purchase.
- Extended Warranty: Extends a 1-year manufacturer's warranty by another 12 months.
- Price Protection: Reimburses up to $250 if an item drops in price within 60 days of purchase.
Fine Print
Interest Rates
- Regular APR: 18.24%-28.24% variable
- Purchase Intro APR: N/A
- Balance Transfer Intro APR: N/A
Fees
- Annual Fee: $0
- Balance Transfer Fee: N/A
- Foreign Purchase Transaction Fee: $0
How the LATAM Airlines Mastercard Stacks Up
LATAM Airlines Mastercard* vs. LATAM Airlines World Elite Mastercard*
The LATAM Airlines World Elite Mastercard* is the more premium alternative in the LATAM credit card line-up. The card has a $99 annual fee and, in turn, offers a much higher welcome bonus of 40,000 LATAM Pass Miles after spending $2,500 in the first three months.
The card's bonus categories are the same as the LATAM Airlines Mastercard*'s, except you'll earn one extra point per dollar spent in each category: 4x miles on LATAM purchases, 3x miles at restaurants, 3x miles on rideshares, taxis, and public transit, 1x miles on everything else. LATAM Airlines World Elite Mastercard* holders also offers two annual accesses to the LATAM VIP Lounge, which the cardholder can redeem on two occasions or on one occasion, using one for themselves and one for an accompanying guest. With this card, you earn elite status Qualifying Points at a more elevated rate. Rather than earning Qualifying Points based on 10% of your point earnings, you'll receive 20%. However, you're still limited to a maximum of 7,000 Qualifying Points per year. In other words, you'll need to spend less to earn the same number of Qualifying Points towards elite status.
Aside from these perks, you'll receive additional perks through the Mastercard World Elite program. Benefits include free ShopRunner membership, three months of complementary DashPass, plus a $5 monthly credit. Cardholders also receive a $5 credit when paying for three Uber rides in one calendar month.
The LATAM Airlines World Elite Mastercard* is a better option if you want to earn credit towards elite status by spending less on your card. It's also ideal for those seeking a higher welcome bonus and who don't mind the $99 annual fee.
LATAM Airlines Mastercard* vs. Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card
The Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card has no annual fee (terms apply, see rates & fees) and a low welcome bonus, like the LATAM Mastercard. Delta is a SkyTeam member, so you can use Delta SkyMiles for LATAM flights. Depending on the season and destination, SkyMiles might even work out more favorably than redeeming LATAM miles.
The Delta Blue Amex Card's welcome bonus is just 10,000 bonus miles after spending $1,000 in purchases on the card in the first 6 months. That may not seem like much, but it can cover a round-trip domestic ticket through SkyMiles Deals. The category bonuses are somewhat less generous since the card earns 2 miles per dollar on Delta purchases, at restaurants worldwide, and takeout and delivery in the U.S. and 1 mile per dollar on all other eligible purchases. Still, cardholders get access to Amex Offers, which has periodic cash back and bonus point deals on various popular retailers (including travel merchants).
The Delta Blue Amex card doesn't charge foreign transaction fees either and provides a 20% discount on in-flight purchases (rewarded via statement credit). Overall, this card is a better choice if you want a card with access to potential lucrative Amex Offers and rewards that go further than LATAM miles.
LATAM Airlines Mastercard* vs. American Airlines AAdvantage MileUp℠ Mastercard®*
The American Airlines AAdvantage MileUp℠ Mastercard®* is another no-annual-fee card worth considering. The card comes with a welcome bonus of 10,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles and receive a $50 statement credit after making $500 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening. The flexibility of a $50 statement credit can come in handy, especially when award inventory is limited.
Cardholders earn 2 AAdvantage miles per dollar at grocery stores, including grocery delivery services, 2 AAdvantage miles per dollar on eligible American Airlines purchases and 1 point AAdvantage mile per dollar on all other purchases. The card also offers a 25% in-flight food and beverage discount, which can add up if you're a frequent American Airlines traveler. As an added perk, every dollar you spend counts towards elite status with the American Airlines AAdvantage program, while the LATAM card only counts 10% of your earnings (capped at 7,000 Qualifying Points) towards status.
American Airlines is one of the few still publishing an award chart. With flights starting at 7,500 miles each way, the 10,000-mile welcome bonus can be put to good use.
The AAdvantage MileUp Card is a better choice than the LATAM card if you want to earn elite status faster and enjoy a more valuable currency. And since American Airlines has multiple co-branded credit cards, topping up your AAdvantage account for an award is easier than earning more LATAM miles.
Is the LATAM Airlines Mastercard for You?
The LATAM Airlines Mastercard* is an option if you're trying to top off your existing LATAM balance for an award without paying an annual fee. The card has some useful features including category bonuses and the ability to earn Qualifying Points towards elite status.
However, LATAM pass isn't the best program out there when it comes to redeeming miles for award travel. And since the only transfer partner is Marriott Bonvoy, you'll have a hard time supplementing your account balance in the future than you would with a more mainstream loyalty program. But if you're a frequent LATAM flyer and want the benefit of not paying an annual or foreign transaction fee while using your card abroad to earn LATAM miles, then it could make sense.
To view rates and fees for Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card, please visit this page.